Baleganjur.com
Beleganjur.com
Introduction to Bali music and dance
Bali is an Indonesian island that shares in the gamelan and various other Indoneisan musical styles. Bali, however, has its own techniques and styles, including “kecak”, a form of singing that imitates the sound of monkeys. In addition, the island is home to several unique kinds of gamelan, including the gamelan jegog, gamelan gong gede, gamelan gambang, gamelan selonding and gamelan semar pagulingan, the cremation music angklung and the processional music bebonangan. Modern popular styles include gamelan gong kebyar, dance music which developed during the Dutch occupation and 1950s era joged bungbung, another popular dance style. In Balinese music you can also hear metallophones, gongs and xylophones.
Gamelan beleganjur is essential to the Hindu religious ceremonies of Bali. There are rites to appease evil spirits and honor good ones, temple festivals to celebrate the anniversary of a temple's dedication, and cremation ceremonies to cleanse the souls of the deceased and prepare them for reincarnation. Though some ceremonies are associated with other specific kinds of gamelan, notably cremation ceremonies with gamelan angklung, beleganjur is nevertheless ubiquitous and often takes the place of other kinds of gamelan if they are not available.
The beleganjur (variously spelled baleganjur or belaganjur) or marching gamelan is a common sight in Bali and is often seen accompanying ritual processions related to cremation or other ceremonial events. It is also occasionally seen played as a sitting gamelan for odalan (temple cleansing) ceremonies and other temple ceremonies. The music is typically a hypnotic, trance-inducing series of percussive loops, punctuated by crashing cymbals, often in highly complex staccato rhythms. In fact, the chaotic energy created by the beleganjur is felt to create a virtual sonic force-field of protection around the ritual object being transported in the procession, as well as help throw participants into trance to enable them to carry often very heavy funeral platforms for many miles.
Beleganjur has its origins as a battle gamelan, played to accompany and inspire warriors going into battle, to induce the appropriate spiritual protection and to strike fear into the hearts of the enemy. Since the processions that beleganjur groups accompany can often go on for miles, the pieces played by beleganjur are often idiomatic in form, and of indefinite duration. Standard pattern sections are assembled to create long pieces. In Bali, a piece would typically start at a fast tempo, creating the valued "busy-ness" that drives away evil spirits before the procession starts off. The tempo then drops as the procession moves off, maintaining a protective force around the marchers. At crossroads, felt to be dangerous locations where dark spirits tend to lurk, the beleganjur might increase the tempo or play a more complex and high-energy segment. At the end of the procession, the beleganjur once again increases its tempo and brings the piece to a close.
The instrumentation consists of several sets of hand cymbals played in syncopation, a set of individual bronze reyong pots carried in the hand and struck with wooden pangguls in fast, highly interlocked rhythms, two large hand-drums, and a set of gongs slung from poles and carried between two people.
Gong Gede - the old style
Gong Gede (Gong-Geh-Day) means, literally, "Big Gong." Often, the word Gong is used as a collective term for the entire Gamelan. So a better translation would be "Big Gamelan." Gong Gede is most certainly big in size, but not in popularity. It is at times excruciatingly slow and laborious. But the name is befitting it's grandeur of position in the wider scope of Balinese music.
The only active Gong Gede is in the mountains at one of the most important temples. It accompanies dances centuries old for the purpose of blessing the entire island. The instrumentation is similar to other Pelog Gamelan in function, but not in style or construct. Gangsa Saron (Sah-Rohn) Jongkok predominate, with large rounded bronze bars mounted on cushioned pegs over a single trough resonator.
Gamelan Gong - Balinese temple gamelan
Instrumentally, Gamelan Gong is very comparable to Gong Kebyar and, in many ways, a direct ancestor. However, differences in musical style are great. Gamelan Gong is essentially temple music, poetic forms with an undeniable stateliness and patience. The scale is five tone Pelog.
Led by two drums, the focal instrument of the ensemble is the Trompong. Trompong is much like Reong in that it consists of a row of horizontally placed gongs. But the Trompong is one octave lower, has only ten gongs, and is played by one person. The Trompong plays the core melody of the composition, adorned with little flowers and turns of ornamentation. The movement of the two cord wrapped sticks used to play it is choreographed to produce a beautiful visual as well as aural expression of the music.
The Ugal of Kebyar grew out of the role of Trompong in Gamelan Gong. There is no Ugal in Gamelan Gong, but there are Gangsa, the lower register instruments, Calung (Chah-Loong) and Jegogan (Jeh-Go-Gahn), Gongs, and Ceng Ceng (Cheng Cheng) cymbals, much like Kebyar. The bamboo flute called Suling (Soo-Ling) also plays a more important role in Gamelan Gong, often working in conjunction with the Trompong.
Pelegongan - music for the Legong dance
Pelegongan (Peh-Leh-Gong-Ahn) is a Pelog gamelan very similar in instrumentation to both Kebyar and Gamelan Gong. In Pelegongan, the role of the Trompong is replaced by two fifteen bar bronze Pelog metallophones called Gender (Gehn-Dare).
Although any instrument with suspended bars is technically a Gender, that name is usually reserved for instruments played with two mallets instead of the usual one. Gender plays an adorned version of the melody in parallel octaves.
Pelegongan is a dance form. It is used to accompany the famous Legong dance, performed by adolescent girls. For pragmatic purposes, Pelegongan music is often played on other types of Gamelan not specifically designed for the Legong.
The actual sonic differences between Pelegongan and other Pelog Gamelan are nominal. Many Gamelan Gong include two Gender along with Trompong and there are also Gamelan Kebyar which have two Gender. Legong is an important dance, so much so that musicians compromise the purity of other styles to accommodate it.
Semar Pegulingan - chamber music
Semar Pegulingan (Seh-Mahr Peh-Goo-Ling-Ahn) is the cream of Pelog Gamelan. The name, although difficult to say, means something just as beautifully complex. Semar means love. Guling (Goo-Ling) means to lie down. Pe-guling-an changes the meaning to... lie down for the purpose of. Semar Pegulingan is a musical aphrodisiac, played for the king and queen as they would lie down for the purpose of love, in their private chambers of course.
Beyond the sweet intentions, Semar Pegulingan has many advanced characteristics. The scale is seven tone pelog. From the addition of two tones to the scale, many more different modes are possible. The mode of any given section of the music will only use five of the tones at a time, creating the illusion of "key change" when one of those tones is substituted for another. Semar Pegulingan was essentially lost to history until early this century when a visionary Balinese musician named Lotring recreated the repertoire based on accounts of older musicians and written records.
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Introduction to Bali Music and Dance
Tips for Women Travellers in Bali
Whether travelling alone or in a group, personal safety features high on women’s lists of concerns. And although Bali, on the whole, requires less of an adjustment from ‘Western’ women travellers than other parts of the continent - the mix of cultural influences here ensures a great degree of tolerance for all types of women’s lifestyles - there are some travel guidelines to bear in mind.
BaliTripTips for Women Travellers:
-Personal safety: we don’t mean to be alarmist, but it’s important to remember, that a woman will always be in more danger, when travelling solo, than a man. There is a whole category of people who will hassle a female, who wouldn’t hassle a man. I have traveled all over Asia, and often my personal safety is not even something I think about, when exploring places at night, being male. It’s always safer to travel with someone else.
Don’t ‘look like a tourist’ - There are 2 types of westerners here, tourists and expats. Its better to look like an expat, as it gives the impression you know your way around. Keep your camera packed away until you want to use it; don’t wear valuable jewelry; enter a shop before consulting a map; and don’t open your purse or bag on the street. I try not to walk away from an ATM counting my money, or come out of a shop before I’ve put my wallet away.
Go out at night in groups. Odds are that you won’t have an unpleasant experience, and keeping in a group works very much in your favor. When staying in a guest house / hotel, lock your door when in your room. I hope this doesn’t make Bali sound like the Bronx, it isn’t, but being careful is a good idea.
-Planning to travel alone? Find a travel buddy at your destination on the BootsnAll Travel Forums.
-Sexual harassment and rape are not too common in Bali, as far as foreigners are concerned. Many foreign women come to Bali looking for a holiday romance. The Japanese lead the pack, and I have on many occassions, observed innocent looking Japanese women, wander out onto the beach, camera in hand, and ask a Balinese man to take a photo. That almost always leads to chit-chat and ‘new friends’. Nothing wrong with that, just saying there is a well worn path, and many Bali beach boys, especially in the Kuta area, are actively trying to get together with foreign women, for the financial benefits. If this does not include you, don’t stress, be polite and say you are married. Many solo women travelers wear a ring, to indicate marriage. Ignore the pettier kinds of behavior (whistling, shouting, etc.), but make a scene if you are ever pressured into doing things against your will, or are being moved from one location to another. If you are raped / attacked, call the Bali Police, (0361) 224111, and contact your consulate.
-Dress code in Bali : Bali in a Hindu island and therefore enjoys relaxed attitudes to things of a sexual nature. Hindu art and Balinese dances, often contain deliberately suggestive material. On the beach you can go topless, without too much to worry about, though nude bathing is not cool.
Out at night you can wear pants, a dress, a skirt, or shorts, no worries. Indonesian women out late in the party scene often wear skimpy outfits, so you can enjoy the tropical climate, and not feel you have to cover up.
One place where you should cover up, is a Balinese temple. You’ll need a long sleeve, non-revealing shirt, sarong & sash (which you can often rent). You may not enter a Balinese temple during menstruation, as the Balinese consider you ‘sebel‘ (ritually unclean).
-Tampons, medicines and the Pill are available at local apoteks (pharmacies), but it’s more convenient to bring supplies from home. If you’re on the Pill, bring enough to last your entire trip (and remember that severe vomiting or diaorrhea can render it ineffective).
-Health care and pregnancy: Private healthcare in Bali is okay; if you find you’re pregnant during your trip, go to a nearby private doctor or hospital for advice. SOS International or BIMC are good clinics, both in the Kuta area. Most large hotel / resorts will have a doctor on call.
-Hospitals & Clinics in Bali.
Abortion is illegal in Indonesia, however, I know 2 people who have gone to a clinic in Bali, and had one, so ask around if you need one.
-Travelling in the rest of Indonesia:
The rest of Indonesia, with the exception of Jakarta, has way less foreigners. You will find yourself in the extreme minority, when traveling through Lombok, Java, Sumatra etc. While not generally dangerous, there are certain places that offer a higher degree of personal risk than others, including Papua, Aceh, Central Sulawesi. You should research your trip and talk to locals, for the latest news about your next destination.
The rest of Indonesia is either Muslim, Christian, or some variety of animist religion. When travelling in Muslim areas, its good for women to wear a non-revealing top, and long pants, definitely no sexy wear. Now, here’s the flip-side. In Jakarta you’ll find nightlclubs galore, that’s different. All across Indonesia there are whore houses galore, that still doesn’t mean its a good idea for you to wear sexy clothing. Locals will wonder why you are traveling in a foreign land without your ‘husband’, so you want to give them the impression you are just another traveler, so as not to draw attention. In general you will not have any major problems travelling as a female in Indonesia.